Archive for the ‘Economic growth’ Category

Summary: Work around the house and for the family is unpaid work and mostly done by women. This reduces their labor force participation and ultimately hurts the GDP of a country. Melinda Gates suggests reducing the work through innovation for the developing countries and redistributing the work amongst partners for developed countries. Higher levels of equity between the sexes will contribute to a stronger social fabric and economy.

Summary: A large percentage of immigrants move to the United States because they are related to someone who is an American citizen. Whereas, a smaller portion of immigrants come from workers who get visas because they have some needed skill in the workforce. In this podcast, Marketplace considers how a country can find a balanced policy in immigration reform. If immigration is too limited for the labor market, employers lose the number of unskilled workers that they may need for the success of their companies.

Summary: With significant damages caused by two major hurricanes that recently took place, it is no surprise that the road to recovery will be a long and an expensive one for the affected areas. This podcast considers the statements of President Trump and his stance on Puerto Rico’s debt, as well as Janet Yellen’s view on regulation. In addition, consider concerns whether the financial system of the U.S. itself has been stable and transparent.

Summary: Learn about a little group in North Korea, called the ‘donju.’ The economic prosperity that they developed went on to support the country’s nuclear program and contributed to the growth of their economy. This was all made possible when Kim Jong Un began allowing consultants from overseas to educate North Korean entrepreneurs on accounting, trade, and management. They did this without daring to actually call it a spread of capitalism, as North Korea still remains a strict socialist country.

Original Air Date: October 13, 2017

Length: 24 minutes 25 seconds

Discussion prompt (1): Having listened to this podcast, what type of economic system do you think North Korea has? What impact do you think this system has on people, businesses and the government. Use specific examples from the podcast to support your answer.

Discussion Prompt (2): The podcast points out that in N Korea’s economic system “the state technically owns everything.” How does this impact the ‘Donju’? Think particularly how it impacts the incentives they face to start and grow a business (contributing to economic development).

Discussion Prompt (3): Why would entrepreneurship not be something typically observed in a Centrally Planned/Socialist country? How are the economic incentives of this system related to this lack of entrepreneurship? According to this podcast, how did the economic actions of the Donju contribute to economic growth in N. Korea?

Summary: In this podcast, economics meets finance. We learn how Stanley Fischer, the departing vice chair of the Fed, connects interest rates to the stock market, how he views the level of transparency of the Fed, and we learn his input on how the country’s economy has been functioning as a whole.

Summary: “Move Fast and Break Things” is a newly released book about the monopolistic market structure of the internet. Marketplace interviews Jonathan Taplin, the author of the book, who is the tour manager for Bob Dylan. They discuss how the monopoly structure set up by the technology companies has ruined the communal nature of the internet. Also discussed is one silicon valley entrepreneur who left San Francisco for Minneapolis.

Summary: Hacktivism is a topic for debate with the latest flurry of activity on the internet. Marketplace interviews a former hacktivist, who served time, but now is at a security firm. They discuss the value of hacktivism, and how technology’s role affects government. Also discussed is Phoenix’s rise as a technology hub, with autonomous cars being tested in Arizona.